VERMILLION — The University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine will use a $14.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead a biomedical research effort that will also fund projects at seven other public, private and tribal South Dakota colleges and universities.

The medical school will receive about $1 million per year for five years and the seven partner institutions will be able to access a total of about $1.5 million each year over the same time, which will enable them to sponsor undergraduate research fellows for developing biomedical research projects, said Barbara E. Goodman, Ph.D., professor of physiology at the medical school and director of the South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network, who oversees the grant.

The seven predominantly undergraduate partner schools include: Augustana College in Sioux Falls, Black Hills State University in Spearfish, Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, Yankton-based Mount Marty College, the University of Sioux Falls and tribal colleges Sisseton-Wahpeton in Sisseton and Oglala Lakota in Kyle on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Examples of the research include a discovery of two proteins potentially useful in cancer therapy, increased understanding of what comprises snake venom and discoveries regarding the growth of ovarian cancer.

In the past years DWU students have participated in BRIN-funded research on the West Nile virus, the influenza vaccine and other biomedical topics.

The grant continues a program started in 2001 and is funded through NIH's Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program, which was designed and mandated by Congress to help redistribute NIH support to 23 underfunded states and Puerto Rico.

— Information provided by the University of South Dakota/originally printed in The Daily Republic

Dakota Discovery Museum’s Fourth of July holiday hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, July 3; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, July 4; closed on Sunday. General adult admission is $7, senior citizens are $6; and children are $3. Regular hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays; and closed on Sundays.

The Mitchell Municipal Band will help celebrate the Fourth of July weekend at Dakota Discovery Museum next week, along with the exhibit “Fall In.”

The Municipal Band will perform at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 1, on the lawn of Dakota Discovery Museum, 1300 McGovern Avenue. This concert is free and open to the public and the public is asked to bring lawn chairs. Free ice cream will also be served.

Dakota Discovery Museum will also offer a reduced admission price of $2.50 per person from 6 to 10 p.m., but the doors to the museum will be closed during the band performance, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. Veterans, and children under the age of 6, are free on Wednesday evening. The festivities will be preceded by a 4 p.m. Chamber Ambassador visit, as well.

The exhibit “Fall In” was first opened in the museum Memorial Day weekend and commemorates U.S. military history. The exhibit is comprised of military items donated and on loan that span across more than a century of military history, including the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and Afghanistan. The museum has acquired memorabilia such as a 19th-century medical kit in pristine condition used during the Spanish-American War, a Red Cross uniform, multiple military uniforms, a Nazi flag and military cap, fire arms, buttons, gas masks, government posters and photographs.

The museum’s Fourth of July holiday hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, July 3; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, July 4; closed on Sunday. General adult admission is $7, senior citizens are $6; and children are $3. Regular hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays; and closed on Sundays.

Also returning to display at Dakota Discovery is Harvey Dunn’s “Dakota Woman.” Dunn’s most famous work was on loan to The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum of Canyon, Texas, and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum located in Oklahoma City, Okla., for more than a year and has made its home return this month. Several of Dunn’s works are available for viewing year-round and museum-quality prints available for purchase in the gift shop.

“With DWU's online BSN program, I could get my work done when I had days off rather than having to rearrange my work schedule.”
-- Betty Brockmueller

Betty Brockmueller, who earned her associate’s degree in nursing in 1998, loved her time at Dakota Wesleyan University.

“I had a great experience,” says Betty, 49, of Brandon, S.D. “The university is small enough that the instructors get to know the students personally.”

As much as she wanted to continue on to earn a bachelor’s in nursing, the mother of three didn’t want to take time away from her family. She put her studies on hold until her twin sons, now 23, graduated from high school. Then she contacted DWU to inquire about the fully onlineRN-Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.

“When I returned to campus to check out the program, I got to see many of the instructors who I grew to know and respect from the associate’s degree program,” she says. “It was like coming home. The fact that my instructors remembered me after so many years was impressive.”

Betty was able to fit her studies in while following her sons’ athletics. She still had time to bike the trails in Sioux Falls and explore her interest in art. She and her husband, who celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this summer, also took trips to Arkansas, Kentucky and California.

“As long as I had Internet access, I could do my studies anywhere,” she says.

Taking classes online also worked well with her job as a Registered Nurse at Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota.

“Because my work schedule is so random, it would have been difficult to take on-campus classes. With the online program, I could get my work done when I had days off rather than having to rearrange my work schedule.”

Even though the RN-BSN can be completed in as little as 14 months, Betty decided to go at a slower pace and take one class at a time.

“I sometimes jokingly say that I took the turtle route,” says Betty, who is now taking her final course.

The change from full-semester courses to eight-week blocks means students can get to their BSN even more quickly now, she notes.

Having never taken online classes before, Betty admits she was apprehensive. “My concern was more about the unknown,” she says. But she quickly adapted.

“I feel like learning in this format stretched me so I could grow in new ways,” she says. “Even though you don’t see your classmates in person, you still can develop a level of comfort with them.”

Her adviser and instructors were “wonderful,” she says, helping her whenever she had a question or concern.

“This program has developed beautifully, and I think those in charge have done a great job making it a positive experience. Taking these classes was challenging, but when you look at the big picture, it’s a great opportunity to move forward and do something that you will never regret.”

If you have put your studies on hold and are now ready to pursue your degree through DWU’s online programs, please email me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Spider-lovers the world-over will converge in Mitchell next week for the 39th annual meeting of the American Arachnological Society.

The meeting changes venues each year and four years ago Dr. Brian Patrick, assistant professor of biology at Dakota Wesleyan University, offered up the college as the host site for the 39th meeting.

Patrick, who has published numerous findings on his research on the South Dakota prairie, which also include several newly discovered species, said that South Dakota varying ecosystems intrigued his colleagues.

“We will take the group around the Mitchell area, as well as north to the South Dakota wetlands and prairielands for people to collect samples of their own,” Patrick said. “These are 77 scientists and scholars from around the world and we are excited to show off our state and our university.”

The meeting begins Friday, June 19, with a social gathering, followed by several days of research and presentations, including a field trip to the Madison Waterfowl Protection Area. There are 77 attendees from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, and the Czech Republic.

“There will be 32 speakers and 23 posters that will cover a variety of topics ranging from ecology to new species of spiders to web and silk mechanics to the evolutionary relationships of groups of spiders to one another,” Patrick said.

There are attendees from the Smithsonian Institution, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the University of California, Riverside, University of California-Davis, University of New Mexico, University of Kansas, University of Missouri, San Diego State University, The Ohio State University, The George Washington University, the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Lewis and Clark College, Texas A&M International University, and the University of British Columbia, just to name a few.

The 2015 spring semester dean’s list at Dakota Wesleyan University includes 222 students.

To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have a semester grade point average of at least 3.5 on a four-point scale. They also have to complete at least 12 hours of academic work during the semester.

Dakota Wesleyan University is once again featured on CollegesofDistinction.com, an online college guide that takes a fresh look at colleges and universities appealing to students’ unique and varied interests. Based on the opinions of guidance counselors, educators, and admissions professionals, Colleges of Distinction™ honors colleges excelling in key areas of educational quality.

In order to qualify, DWU was required to demonstrate excellence in the four distinctions: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful outcomes. The goal of Colleges of Distinction™ is to provide students, counselors and parents with information about colleges and universities that excel in these four areas. Featured schools take a holistic approach to admissions, consistently excel in providing undergraduate education and have a national reputation.

This is Dakota Wesleyan’s fifth year on the list.

“They all share excellent reputations among high school guidance counselors and education professionals, not to mention employers and graduate schools. Their classrooms are among the most exciting in the country; their programs are some of the most innovative,” states the website.

“Returning to continue my education has been a fun challenge,” she says. “I have built my confidence and I am a better nurse.”

-- Barb Mullock

In 1986, Barb Mullock earned her associates degree in nursing from Dakota Wesleyan University. She then launched into a nearly 30-year career at SSM Health St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, Mo., where she has been an Infection Preventionist for the past eight years.

Content with life, Mullock says continuing her education “was not even on my radar”—until her employer strongly encouraged Mullock and others to pursue a BSN.

“God brought me back to study at DWU, leaving me in awe of Him and His ways,” she says.

In her preschool years, Mullock listened to her aunt tell stories about nursing. She recalls asking her aunt what the difference was between an RN and a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She knew after hearing her aunt’s response that one day she was going to be an RN.

“God planted that ambition in my heart and, over the years, provided the means for that seed to grow,” Mullock says. “Dakota Wesleyan University has been an instrument God has used to bring that little girl’s dream to fruition.”

When she attended DWU in the 1980s, no one used computers or other electronic devices. Research was done in the library. So Mullock had concerns about pursuing a degree online: Could she learn in an online setting? Could she adapt and succeed?

“Gratefully, God helped me overcome the anxiety and I have been able to master my classes and the Virtual Campus,” says Mullock, who will complete the program at the end of June. “My lesson is that wherever He leads me I should follow, regardless of my trepidation.”

Before she applied to DWU, Mullock was given the opportunity to explore the DWU Virtual Campus. Orientation was also extremely helpful in making her feel more comfortable with online learning. DWU instructors and staff have also made it easy for her to transition back to school, she says.

“The classes are very manageable,” Mullock says. “I appreciate the common sense approach to education at DWU. The required classes are always applicable to my interests and career choice.”

As she nears the end of her online studies at DWU, Mullock says she is proud of what she’s accomplished.

“Returning to continue my education has been a fun challenge,” she says. “I have built my confidence and I am a better nurse.”

To students considering the DWU RN-BSN program, Mullock says: “If I can do it, anyone can do it!”

I invite you to email me to explore how DWU can help you achieve your dreams.

It has been 129 years since Dakota Wesleyan University held its first Commencement ceremonies. DWU welcomed this year’s class of 235 graduates to the Corn Palace stage May 3 for this year’s graduation, coming a long way from its original eight.

Dr. John Cawley, a 2004 DWU graduate, gave the Commencement address. Cawley is the owner and partner at Associates in Family Medicine P.C. in Fort Collins, Colo., and spoke to students about the importance of taking advantage of opportunities and living life to the fullest.

The Rev. Eric Van Meter gave the baccalaureate speech on “The Art of Failure,” and not being afraid to try.

This year, an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration went to Ron Gates Sr., and Jerry Luckett, associate professor of business administration and economics, was awarded the prestigious Clarke Award for Teaching Excellence by Steve Clarke and his wife, Whitney, on behalf of the Clarke family.

Dakota Wesleyan University was named to the 2013 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This designation is the highest honor a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

Dakota Wesleyan University is proudly affiliated with the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Members of any and all faiths are welcome and encouraged to experience an education based on learning, leadership, faith and service.

Dakota Wesleyan University has been honored as a College of Distinction through demonstration of excellence in these areas: engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful outcomes.

The Chronicle of Higher Education named Dakota Wesleyan University one of the “Great Colleges to Work For®” for 2014-2015. DWU won honors in three categories: facilities, workspace and security, and supervisor/department chair relationship.